The cargo bed of a pickup truck, whether on a small and lightweight truck or a heavy-duty hauling truck, is considerably elevated above the ground. This is especially true for trucks with heavy duty suspension systems and trucks equipped for off-road performance. Access to the cargo bed is typically provided by a tailgate of some kind, and most often a tailgate that folds down into a position substantially coplanar with the floor of the cargo bed. This facilitates loading and unloading cargo from the truck, but it also creates a high step as the only practical means to get into the cargo bed physically to carry, place, move, adjust, secure, or remove a load. Except for the young and nimble who derive some measure of satisfaction from being able to spring onto the tailgate, most users prefer to get into the cargo bed without the need of macho gymnastics. And even the most nimble need occasional assistance lifting a load onto the tailgate.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a step or steps to assist in mounting a tailgate for entering the cargo bed area of a pickup truck. However, it is inconvenient and space-consuming to haul around a small ladder or some other kind of portable step. It is therefore more desirable to have an auxiliary step somehow integrated into the truck's exterior. This need has been appreciated and a number of devices have been proposed to address the need. The following United States patents and published patent applications are exemplary.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,032 to Barbour, teaches a retractable step that can be either retrofitted to a standard pickup truck type tail gate or can be incorporated into the tail gate during manufacture. If installed at the time of manufacture, the step is of the “disappearing type” and is not visible except when extended and folded down for use. This is accomplished through a track and pivot arrangement with the retrofit version having a housing in which the step is enclosed when in the retracted position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,193 to Straffon, discloses a self-storing step for use with a truck tailgate. The self-storing step deploys from the top of a tailgate under the force of gravity when the tailgate swings from an upright and closed position to an open and downwardly disposed orientation. The assembly is particularly well-suited for military vehicles and is, accordingly, assigned to the United States as represented by the Secretary of the Army. The structure includes an auxiliary step associated with a permanent step disposed on the tailgate. The auxiliary step has a pair of spaced parallel legs disposed with their axes normal to the hinged edge of the tailgate and lying within the plane defined by the tailgate. The parallel legs lie one on each side of the permanent step located on the tailgate so as to bracket the permanent step. The parallel legs have a first end with a stop that cooperates with the tailgate or associated bracket to allow the parallel legs to move longitudinally but to prevent the legs from separating from the tailgate. A cross arm extends between the second ends of the parallel legs with one end attached to each end of the parallel legs to form a step.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,338 to Glickman et al, shows an integrated tailgate extender for a vehicle with a flat cargo bed. The tailgate has a closed vertical position and an open horizontal position, and a tailgate extension slideably received by the tailgate that may be extended to a substantially horizontal position when the tailgate is in the open position. The extender can be rotated upwardly to extend the cargo bed or downwardly to provide a load starter or step assist.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0070577 discloses a step apparatus integrated into a tailgate and comprising a tailgate with a step deployable from the top of a tailgate. The step is operably concealed within a tailgate which has parallel interior channels and moves on a frame assembly that slides within the parallel channels. It may be extended and then pivoted to provide steps positioned beyond the top edge of the open tailgate. One or more steps may be provided.
The foregoing patents reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these patents is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated patents disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein. Additionally, the prior art devices include limitations and disadvantages that invite improvement. Specifically, the prior art designs are all adapted for incorporation into the top of a tailgate. This positioning interferes with the latch assembly, also located in the top, and it limits and possibly prohibits use of the apparatus when the truck has a trailer attached. Furthermore, the auxiliary step devices in the prior art do not provide any hand holds for a user.